The Shoulder Of Mutton, Milton Keynes

A traditional pub on the main road through the village, this looks to be a very old building with it's slightly lopsided, half timbered frame and a thatched roof and looks very much the typical village inn. Inside it's split in to two rooms with an L-shape bar going round the curved bar counter, and a slightly smaller room off to one side that looks as though it may perhaps be more intended for dining. It has a pleasant ambience with a red tiled floor, plenty of exposed brickwork, a low ceiling with plenty of black beams and a couple of large brick built fire-places, one being dual aspect dividing the two bars and the other at one end with a large wood burning stove. Various other paraphernalia was piled up here such as a selection of board games, a table top pool game and a glass display cabinet with various local craft items for sale. A plasma was tucked in to a small recess in the wall, although this was not in use. Instead there was background music playing at just the right volume. There were a few locals sat on stools up at the bar and the landlord seemed a friendly chap. Various fairly lights adorned the beams, although these may well have been part of the Christmas decorations rather than a regular fixture. The gents were unusual in that both the walls and ceiling were fully carpeted, even extending in to the window recess. Fortunately the flooring was more conventional tiles. The food choice was unusual in as much that the main menu consisted entirely of steaks and burgers. Price wise, the steaks were around the £15 - £20 mark, and the burgers around £9 - £12. These were apparently all home made with local ingredients and came in about a dozen different flavours, including a couple of chicken ones. If that's not your thing, there was a specials board above the fire-place listing another dozen or so dishes, although these were a cut above your usual "pub grub" with many of the options nudging the £15 mark. My "Old Smokey" burger with mature cheddar cheese, bacon and a BBQ sauce was one of the cheaper options at £9.75 and was indeed a decent burger with crunchy chips and a side salad that included a balsamic dressing. Beers on tap were mostly of the festive variety with Firkin' Gold and Rocking Rudolph, although there was also Young's Bitter. Ciders were Symond's Founders Reserve and Aspall's Suffolk. All in all this seems a great village local, and well worth a visit if you're in the area.